No. 27 The dying Rostam shoots Shaghad

This illustration is from the ‘Great Mongol’ Shahnameh,
the masterpiece of the late Il-Khanid period, whose illustrations are
now widely dispersed. The subject is the same as No. 25 and follows
it closely in composition, though the painting is richer and darker.
Rostam is shown as an old man with a radiant glow. The tree once more
echoes the form of the deceitful Shaghad, pierced by Rostam’s final
shot. The artist has assimilated elements of both Chinese and Arab
painting into a majestic synthesis.